Narnia: Where It's Winter But Never Christmas Series

Where it’s Winter But Never Christmas

Advent Part 1

Intro. The title is a quote from C S Lewis’ book “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” part of a seven volume series called The Chronicles of Narnia.

C S Lewis was a professor at Oxford University who was an atheist. But due to the influence of J R R Tolkien and others Lewis came to faith in Jesus Christ.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the story of four children - Peter, Susan, Edmond and Lucy, who during the bombing of London during WW2 are sent to live in the country

One day while exploring Lucy checks out a wardrobe full of fur coats and ends up walking into a land called Narnia. Narnia has been under the Spell of the White Witch for 100 years.

Eventually Lucy and her siblings will play an important part in the redemption of Narnia by Aslan, the Lion, the Son of the Great Emperor.

In 1950 when Lewis began writing this first book in the Chronicles of Narnia he states that he did not set out to write a story which pointed to the attributes of Christ - but that is where he ended up.

When a little girl named Hila wrote to Lewis asking him to tell her Aslan’s other name. Lewis responded with clues from the stories.

“Well, I want you to guess. Has there ever been anyone in this world who

1) arrived at the same time as Father Christmas,

2) Said he was the son of the Great Emperor,

3) Gave himself up for someone else’s fault, to be jeered at and killed by wicked people,

4) Came to life again, and

5) Is sometimes spoken of as a lamb (see the end of Dawn Trader)?

Don’t you really know His name in this world? “Think it over, and let me know your answer.”

Another reader, a young Christian, actually became worried that he had come to love Aslan even more than Jesus. A concerned mother wrote Lewis for advice. Within 10 days she received this reply,

“Laurence can’t really love Aslan more than Jesus, even if he feels that’s what he is doing. For the things he loves Aslan for doing or saying are simply things that Jesus really did and said. So that when Laurence thinks he is loving Aslan, he is really loving Jesus; and perhaps loving Him more than he ever did before.”

Today as we begin our Advent journey I want us to focus on the condition of Narnia. The best description is one that we have already used this morning - “where it’s winter but never Christmas.”

You see when evil enters a land everything is effected. As we think of Advent being a time of preparation for Christmas - today we are actually asking why did Christ need to come.

1. The Winter of Narnia is like Darkness

The scriptures speak of people who are walking in darkness

- Job 12:25 (NLT) hey grope in the darkness without a light. He makes them stagger like drunkards.

- Isaiah 59:9b (NIV) We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.

- John 3:19-20 (NLT) Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. [20] They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished.

Ephes. 4:18 (NLT) Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

Psalm 42:9 (NLT)

"O God my rock," I cry,

"Why have you forsaken me?

Why must I wander in darkness,

oppressed by my enemies?"

2. The Lampost of Narnia reminds us of Light

There is a symbol in Narnia that reminds me of hope. It is at the entry point for the children to Narnia and it is a Lampost

Psalm 107:13-15 (NIV)

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he saved them from their distress.

[14] He brought them out of darkness and the

deepest gloom

and broke away their chains.

[15] Let them give thanks to the Lord for his

unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men,

Job 12:22 (NLT) "He floods the darkness with light; he brings light to the deepest gloom.

Psalm 18:28 (NIV) - You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

Matthew quotes Isaiah 9:2 (NIV) The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.